Handle-controlled door-latching arrangement for a cabinet

ABSTRACT

A handle-controlled door-latching arrangement, comprising a Tshaped handle mounted on the door of a cabinet, or enclosure, by inserting the leg portion of the T through a slot in the door and pivotally attaching the leg to a bracket secured inside the door along side the slot. A U-shaped rider, having a slot formed in the bottom and opposing notches formed in each side thereof, is mounted over the leg and bracket so that they protrude through the slot, with the side notches engaging each end of an actuating pin that is inserted through a hole in the leg of the T near the pivotal mounting. A door-latching bar is mounted to each end of the rider for engaging with or disengaging from portions attached to the cabinet, or enclosure, in response to a lever-type operation of the handle, to either latch the door in the closed position or unlatch it for subsequent opening. A key-operated rotary-type lock is mounted in the door adjacent the latching arrangement and is operated by the key for rotating a locking finger into engagement with a notch in the leg of the T to lock the arrangement in the latched position.

United States Patent [72] inventor Ansano Bertellotti Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Chicago, 11]. Assistant Examiner- Edward J. McCarthy [2i] Appl. No. 693,426 Attorneys-C. A. Krenzer, K. Mullerheim and James T. [22] Filed Dec. 26, 1967 Whitesel [45] Patented Dec. 28, 1971 [73] Assignee Automatic Electric Laboratories, Inc.

Northhke, ABSTRACT: A handle-controlled door-latching arrangement, comprising a T-shaped handle mounted on the door of a cabinet, or enclosure, by inserting the leg portion of the T [54] HANDLE-CONTROLLED DOOR-LATCHING through a slot in the door and pivotally attaching the leg to a ARRANGEMENT FOR A CABINET bracket secured inside the door along side the slot. A U- 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figs. shaped rider, having a slot formed in the bottom and opposing notches formed in each side thereof, is mounted over the leg 52 us. Cl 221247;? and bracket 50 that they pmmde through the slot with the 51 rm. Cl E05: 9/10, side mches engaging each end mating is Eosb 65/44 serted through a hole in the leg of the T near the pivotal [50] Field of Search 70/82, 81; mounting A door'latchins bar is mounted to each end of the 292/37 40 34 159 161 3363 DIG 30 DIG 31 rider for engaging with or disengaging from portions attached to the cabinet, or enclosure, in response to a lever-type opera- [56] R fe e Cited tion of the handle, to either latch the door in the closed posi- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion or unlatch it for subsequent opening. A key-operated rotary-type lock is mounted in the door adjacent the latching ar- 21o8359 2/1938 Accard'm 292/40X rangement and is operated by the key for rotating a locking 3158'0l6 l 1/ I964 Fay 70/82 finger into engagement with a notch in the leg of the T to lock the arrangement in the latched position.

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FIG. 2

HANDLE-CONTROLLED DOOR-LATCHING ARRANGEMENT FOR A CABINET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field This invention relates generally to door-latching apparatus, and more particularly to handle-controlled door-latching apparatus of the type adapted for use on doors of enclosures. or cabinets, housing various types and sizes of equipment, with operation of the handle during the latching or unlatching operation being of the nonrotary motion, and an arrangement for locking the handle in the normal position to prevent further operation of the apparatus.

2. Prior Art Among the various designs and types of handle-controlled door-latching apparatus currently known to applicant, the most common is of the type, wherein operation of the interior mechanism requires turning the handle in a rotary direction parallel to the plane of the door, but to one side away from center and out of its original vertical or horizontal position. It is noted that when the above type of latching apparatus is used, the particular disadvantage arises, wherein the handle becomes loose at its mounting on the door, after repeated operation, thus resulting in erratic and nonpositive latching actions.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved handle-controlled door-latching arrangement that is rugged in construction, economical and easy to manufacture, requires no maintenance or adjustment, is positive and effortless in its lever type of operation and universally adaptable for use on doors of all types of enclosures, or cabinets.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement for locking the handle and the latching apparatus in its latching, or normal, position to prevent further operation thereafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, in accordance with the invention, a handle-controlled door-latching arrangement is provided, with the arrangement comprising a flat rectangular handle having a control plate permanently attached along one side edge at right angles to one of the flat surfaces of the handle. The handle and plate is mounted on the door of the cabinet, or enclosure, by inserting the control plate through a correspondingly sized slot in the door and pivotally attaching the plate at one end near the outer edge of the other side to a bracket secured to the inside of the door alongside the slot. A U-shaped rider, corresponding in length substantially to that of the handle, and including a lengthwise slot formed in the bottom and an opposing operating notch formed in each side near one end of the rider, is positioned over the control plate and bracket with the plate and bracket protruding through the slot, and the inner surfaces of the operating notches engaged by the ends of an actuating pin extending at right angles through a hole located in the plate directly below the pivotal point of attachment to the bracket. A latching bar is attached to each end of the rider for disengaging from, or engaging with, portions of the cabinet, or enclosure, to allow the door to either be unlatched, or latched, depending on whether the handle is pivoted, in a lever type of operation, outward from the surface of the door or toward it. A key-operated lock is mounted in the door and operated by the key for rotating a locking finger through a lateral slot in the slide member and into engagement with a notch in the control plate to prevent opening of the door when the handle is in the normally closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The nature of the invention and its distinguishing features and advantages, which reside in the construction and arrangement and combination of parts thereof, will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a partly exploded isometric view of the door handle and latching arrangement;

FIG. 2 is a side view. partly in cross section, of the door handle and latching arrangement as mounted on the inside of the door of a cabinet, or enclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a back view of the door handle and latching arrangement as mounted on the inside of the door of a cabinet, or enclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Before proceeding with the detailed structural description of the handle-controlled door-latching arrangement, it is first pointed out with reference to FIG. 2 of the drawings, that the dotted portions corresponding in particular to handle 5, control plate 6, rider 4, actuating pin 9, upper latch bar 2 and lower latch bar 3, represent the position of these elements when the latching arrangement is operated to the unlatching position. Similarly, in FIG. 3, the dotted portion corresponding to locking finger 15 of lock 14 represents the look, when rotated to its nonlocking position.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 3, the door handle and latching arrangement consists of a flat rectangular shaped handle 5 having one side edge of a flat control plate 6 permanently attached at right angles to one of the flat surfaces of the handle.

.As shown in FIG. 1, the cabinet, or enclosure door 1 is strengthened by forming the right-hand edge into a U-shape, cutting an elongated slot 18 in the door in the same plane as the right-hand edge, and securing bracket 7 to door 1 along side the right-hand edge of slot 18.

Control plate 6 of handle 5 is inserted through slot 18 from outside the door, with hole 24 of control plate 6 adjacent to and in line with threaded hole 25 of bracket 7. The threaded body portion of actuating pin 9 is inserted through hole 26 of control plate 6 and nut portion 10 is attached thereto.

As shown in FIG. I, U-shaped rider 4 has a lengthwise slot 19 formed in the bottom, a locking slot 20 formed in the left 1 side near the bottom and a pair of operating notches 21, one opposite the other, formed in each leg. Rider 4 is positioned over bracket 7 and control plate 6, with the open end of the U facing the inner face of the door, so that the inner surfaces of operating notches 21 engage the body portions of actuating pin 9 and nut 10, and bracket 7 and plate 6 protrude through slot 19. Pivot screw 8 is then inserted through hole 24 and threaded into hole 25 to pivotally attach plate 6 to bracket 7.

The outer ends of upper latch bar 2 and lower latch bar 3 are positioned for translational movement in relatively narrow slots in the upper and lower guides 12 and 13, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. After insertion of the bars in their corresponding slots, the inner ends are secured to rider 4 by means of screws 11.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a key-operated rotary-type lock 14 is mounted in a hole formed in door 1 at the left of the latching arrangement, and includes a locking finger 15 attached to the end of lock 14 by means of a screw 17.

If the door handle and latching arrangement is to be operated from the shown locked latching position, key 16 is first inserted into lock 14 and rotated therein to turn locking finger 15 in a clockwise direction to the dotted position shown in FIG. 3. When handle 5 and its attached control plate 6 is subsequently moved outward away from door 1 in a pivotal lever-type operation to the dotted position shown in FIG. 2, control plate 6 pivots about screw 8, and actuating pin 9 and associated nut 10 are moved upward in a corresponding are. It is noted that as handle 5 and control plate 6 are moved, or raised, the portion of door 1 at the upper edge of slot 18 enters arcuate shaped slot 22 of plate 6. Since both operating notches 21 of rider 4 are engaged by the body portions of actuating pin 9 and nut 10, the arcuate movement of pin 9 and nut 10 causes a translational movement of rider 4 and the attached upper and lower latch bars 2 and 3 to the respective dotted positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, whereby they disengage from the hook portions 27 that are attached to the cabinet. Since the handle-controlled door-latching arrangement is now in the unlatched position, the door may be opened.

In order to return the latching arrangement to the normal locked latching position, it is only necessary to reverse the unlatching procedure described in the above paragraph.

It is pointed out that lock 14 is of the type that with key 16 withdrawn, lock 14 remains fixed in either the locked or unlocked condition, as the case may be.

What is claimed is:

l. A handle-controlled door-latching arrangement for use with a cabinet door, comprising:

a T-shaped handle assembly including a flat rectangularshaped handle portion having a flat control leg portion rigidly attached along one edge, lengthwise and at right angles to one of the flat sides of said handle portion;

said cabinet door having a longitudinal slot formed in said door parallel to and near one edge thereof for receiving said control leg portion of said handle assembly;

a flat bracket rigidly secured at right angles to the inside surface of said door, adjacent said longitudinal slot and said control leg portion;

an actuating pin rigidly mounted near the center of one end of said control leg portion and extending outward at right angles from each flat side thereof;

a U-shaped rider having a lengthwise slot formed in the bottom and an opposing operating notch formed in each side near one end thereof, and positioned over said control leg portion and said bracket, with said control leg and said bracket protruding through said lengthwise slot and each said operating notch engaged by a corresponding end of said a actuating pin;

means for pivotally mounting said control leg at said one end to said bracket at corresponding corner points in each said leg and said bracket and located directly outside said mounting location of said actuating pin;

a pair of cabinet latching bars, each attached at one end to the bottom portion of a different end of said rider, for engaging the cabinet associated with said door during the time said latching arrangement is in the normal latching position;

and an arcuate slot formed in said one end of said control leg portion, starting near the point of attachment to said handle portion and extending towards the other end in an arcuate direction away from said handle portion to a point beyond the center of said leg portion, for accommodating the portion of said door at the corresponding end of said longitudinal slot when said handle is manually pivoted in a direction away from and out of a plane parallel with the outside surface of said door;

said control leg portion rotating at said pivotal mounting in response to said pivotal operation of said handle for moving said actuating pin in a corresponding arcuate movement to translate said movement to said engaged rider and said attached latching bars and disengage said bars A from said cabinet, thereby unlatching said door from said associated cabinet. 

1. A handle-controlled door-latching arrangement for use with a cabinet door, comprising: a T-shaped handle assembly including a flat rectangular-shaped handle portion having a flat control leg portion rigidly attached along one edge, lengthwise and at right angles to one of the flat sides of said handle portion; said cabinet door having a longitudinal slot formed in said door parallel to and near one edge thereof for receiving said control leg portion of said handle assembly; a flat bracket rigidly secured at right angles to the inside surface of said door, adjacent said longitudinal slot and said control leg portion; an actuating pin rigidly mounted near the center of one end of said control leg portion and extending outward at right angles from each flat side thereof; a U-shaped rider having a lengthwise slot formed in the bottom and an opposing operating notch formed in each side near one end thereof, and positioned over said control leg portion and said bracket, with said control leg and said bracket protruding through said lengthwise slot and each said operating notch engaged by a corresponding end of said actuating pin; means for pivotally mounting said control leg at said one end to said bracket at corresponding corner points in each said leg and said bracket and located directly outside said mounting location of said actuating pin; a pair of cabinet latching bars, each attached at one end to the bottom portion of a different end of said rider, for engaging the cabinet associated with said door during the time said latching arrangement is in the normal latching position; and an arcuate slot formed in said one end of said control leg portion, starting near the point of attachment to said handle portion and extending towards the other end in an arcuate direction away from said Handle portion to a point beyond the center of said leg portion, for accommodating the portion of said door at the corresponding end of said longitudinal slot when said handle is manually pivoted in a direction away from and out of a plane parallel with the outside surface of said door; said control leg portion rotating at said pivotal mounting in response to said pivotal operation of said handle for moving said actuating pin in a corresponding arcuate movement to translate said movement to said engaged rider and said attached latching bars and disengage said bars from said cabinet, thereby unlatching said door from said associated cabinet. 